1950s Pulpy Goodness

I'm literally neck deep in a massive blog project that will debut next week, but I know I need to post "something" to tide over my loyal Bat Cave readers. The problem is that my brain is the consistency of cottage cheese at the moment.

(But...ooooh...what fun we shall have next week!)

Ahem, in the meantime, I thought I would share some fantastic 1950s pulp cover art goodness courtesy of the fine folks at Hard Case Crime. I'm telling you, those guys over there sure do have the knack for inspired reprints and this one sounds positively over-the-top delicious.

Back Cover Copy:

SOME MEN AND SOME MERCHANDISE
ARE JUST TOO HOT TO HANDLE

All Tony Catell knew when he broke into the university science lab was that they had a gold ingot on the premises for some sort of experiment. So he stole it. What he didn’t know was that the experiment involved nuclear power—and that the gold was dangerously radioactive.

Now the cops and the FBI are on Tony’s trail, Tony’s underworld contacts don’t want anything to do with him, and the loot he’s lugging around is leaving a swath of radiation sickness and death in his path.

And since he’s just come from his third stint in prison, if they catch him, he’s not going back to jail—he’s going to the electric chair...

In the immortal words of the letter the editor sent with this book, yes - the plot is "grotesquely implausible." But hell, that's half the fun of pulp crime novels. Nobody is expecting (or hell, even wants) staid realism.

This little gem was first published in 1955, and honestly doesn't the whole "OMG that thar gold be radiated!" sound totally over-the-top 1950s? I mean, honestly. All this book needs now is an appearance by J. Edgar Hoover wiretapping somebody's phone line. Or maybe some apple-cheeked school children ducking under their desks, because dontcha know that will surely protect them when the Soviets decide to drop the bomb.

Having a pulp crime addiction on top of my romance novel addiction is probably not a good thing. But it certainly is amusing. And how can you not love a cover like the one they slapped on this book? Anorexic, creepy looking chick? Check. Slime-ball looking guy sulking in the shadows wearing a hat and carrying a gun? Check. Fantastic, marvelous tag-line? Check.

Love it! Keep 'em coming boys!